The college football slate in Week 6 only features one matchup between two ranked teams – the No. 9 ranked Missouri Tigers going to College Station to face No. 25 Texas A&M Aggies – but that just means there are plenty of opportunities to see big time teams get upset.
While the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide are probably safe on the road at Vanderbilt, many other top programs could see their perfect record dashed while their chances of making the 12-team College Football Playoff dwindle as well.
Below is a look at four ranked teams who are all facing unranked opponents that could pull off an upset, including a pair of Big Ten teams taking lengthy road trips and an SEC team trying desperately to avoid a second straight loss.
We start in the ACC in a battle between two teams hoping to earn a share of first place in the conference:
Louisville Cardinals
Saturday, October 5th at 12:00 PM ET vs. SMU Mustangs
Louisville and SMU are each fighting for a share of first place in the ACC, with Saturday’s tilt carrying massive implications for the standings behind Miami and Clemson.
The Cardinals are coming off their first loss of the season at Notre Dame, and SMU is rolling with two major scoring outbursts against TCU and Florida State in its last two games. This one has all the makings of a very close game and a potential upset by the Mustangs.
Ole Miss Rebels
Saturday, October 5th at 3:30 PM ET vs. South Carolina Gamecocks
Ole Miss is the favorite on Saturday, but there are very few easy road games in the SEC and South Carolina is more than capable of handing Lane Kiffin and the Rebels a second straight loss.
In fact, the team Ole Miss lost to in Week 5 – the Kentucky Wildcats – were absolutely throttled by South Carolina in Week 2, losing 31-6. Transitive property doesn’t always apply, but it’s worth keeping an eye on here.
Michigan Wolverines
Saturday, October 5th at 7:30 PM ET vs. Washington Huskies
Michigan’s offense has struggled a bit with new quarterback Alex Orji, but Washington’s defense is a perfect opportunity to fix some of those issues.
However, travelling all the way to Seattle to face UW in the evening in a hostile road environment is not easy whatsoever, and this Huskies team has nothing to lose. Expect a tight one for all four quarters.
USC Trojans
Saturday, October 5th at 7:30 PM ET vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers
Like Michigan, the USC Trojans’ offense hasn’t been able to put together a consistent performance across all four quarters this season – and that presents a problem against a very good Minnesota defense.
Playing on the road doesn’t help either, and in order to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive the Trojans absolutely need to avoid looking past this game toward a matchup with Penn State in Week 7.